A somewhat-regular sharing of the dialogue that God and I are having through Scripture, as pastor of Palmdale UMC (http://www.pumchurch.com/).

Friday, September 25, 2009

Choosing to let go...

"...but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntery and not something forced."

(Philemon 14)

Philemon is such an interesting letter/story. Paul is writing to his friend-in-faith, Philemon. The letter is delivered by Onesiumus - a man who used to be Philemon's slave, but ran away! He became close friends with Paul. So Paul sent him back to Philemon (as the law required), but asked that he willingly release Onesimus so he an come back and be part of Paul's ministry team. (Can you imagine how that scene played out!?!)

In the letter, Paul writes that he could compel Philemon to release Onesimus... or, he could have simply kept him and told Philemon that the situation with Onesimus has changed. But instead he sent him back - so Philemon could choose to release him on his own. Paul knew there is great power (and HEALING!) when one is allowed to choose to let go. Philemon not only had to let go of Onesimus, but also of the great pain, bitterness, and resentment that he must have harbored in his heart towards him.

Which begs us to ask... What might we need to willingly let go of? Control of relationships? Past hurts? Resentments? Personal will? What "voluntary good deed" might lead to healing, restoration, and new life... in us or in others? Hmmm... maybe this runaway slave has something to teach us even today!?!

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SCRIPTURE JOURNALING

Some of the best "divine inspiration" can come when we read the Bible on a regular basis. A few years ago I discovered the gift of reading the Bible devotionally - reading not to "get through" a particular book or passage, but rather to listen for a word from God. I've come to call this scripture journaling.

The process is simple, and I like using the SOAP acronym:S - SCRIPTURE... record one verse (or portion of a verse) that God used to speak to you during your reading...

O - OBSERVATION... Make an observation about what this scripture seems to be saying about God, us, life, etc.

A - APPLICATION... How does this apply to your life personally? What insight does this give you? How will you be different today because of what you've just read?

P - PRAYER... Write a short prayer as a response to God for what has just been revealed to you through scripture.

It's as simple as that! You can find the reading plan that we use at Palmdale UMC on our website (http://pumchurch.com/im-new/scripture-journaling)... but you can do this with any reading plan. The main point is finding time to spend with God through the life-giving power of the Bible! My daily blog entries come directly from my own scripture journaling. I hope it may encourage you to start this life-changing practice!

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About Me

I'm the pastor of Palmdale United Methodist Church in the Antelope Valley of California. I began serving this congregation in July 2015. I graduated from Waiakea High School on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1986... received my undergraduate degree in Theatre from the University of Hawaii ('90)... and my MDiv from Drew Theological School ('94). I've served 3 UMC congregations in Hawaii before coming to California.
You can listen to and read my sermons on our church website (www.pumchurch.com) - click on sermons...